Newsgroups: comp.object,comp.parallel,comp.software-eng,ch.si.choose
From: oscar@iam.unibe.ch (Oscar Nierstrasz)
Subject: NEW VOLUME -- Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
Organization: Dept. of CS, University of Berne, Switzerland
Date: Fri, 30 Jun 1995 09:39:19 GMT
Message-ID: <3t0go7$od8@aragorn.unibe.ch>

Please accept our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this announcement.

Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems is a new
collection of papers edited by Paolo Ciancarini, Oscar Nierstrasz and
Akinori Yonezawa, and published in the Lecture Notes in Computer
Science series of Springer-Verlag (1995).  This volume contains
selected contributions from participants in the ECOOP Workshop on
Coordination Languages and Models for Parallelism and Distribution
(held in Bologna in July 1994).

For more information, including:
	- the full text of the Preface,
	- Table of Contents
	- Abstracts of Papers,
	- Paper references in bibtex and refer formats, and
	- Authors' Home Pages

please consult the WWW home page for the book:

http://iamwww.unibe.ch/~oscar/OBM94/index.html

Oscar Nierstrasz

---

%L Andr95a
%K olit OBM94-01
%A Jean-Marc Andreoli
%A Herve Gallaire
%A Remo Pareschi
%T Rule-based Object Coordination
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 1-13
%X We discuss a framework in which the traditional features of objects
   (encapsulation, communication etc.) are enhanced with
   synchronization and coordination facilities using the declarative
   power of rules. We propose two interpretation of rules one {\em
   re-active} and the other {\em pro-active}, corresponding to
   different kinds of interaction between the rules and the objects.
   Finally, we consider the problem of capturing domain-specific
   knowledge within a general coordination framework, for which
   constraints offer a promising direction of research.

%L Bijn95a
%K olit OBM94-02
%A Stijn Bijnens
%A Wouter Joosen
%A Pierre Verbaeten
%T Sender Initiated and Receiver Initiated Coordination in a Global Object Space
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 14-28
%X This paper features a case study of a complex parallel application
   (in the area of Molecular Dynamics Simulation) modelled in a
   concurrent object-oriented language.  In this computational model,
   application objects can exhibit some autonomous behaviour and reside
   in a global object space. At runtime, this object space can
   physically be mapped on a distributed memory machine.  The case
   study indicates the pitfalls of pure name-based object interaction.
   We show that due to the dynamic nature of the interaction schemes
   between the application objects, coordination primitives are
   necessary to achieve expressive lucidity within a programming
   language.  As a result, two  kinds of semantics exist for
   coordination in the object space:
   1. Sender-initiated coordination by means of pattern-based group
   communication.
   2.  Receiver-initiated coordination by means of multi-object
   synchronisation constraints.  A language framework is proposed that
   enables a programmer to express both kinds of coordination, and a
   concise implementation based on a meta-level architecture is
   presented.

%L Brow95a
%K olit OBM94-03
%A Na\:ima Brown
%T Correctness Preserving Transformations for the Design of Parallel Programs
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 29-48
%X This paper is about how to design correct computer programs. In
   particular it concerns formal methods for the construction and
   verification of parallel algorithms. We develop the theoretical
   foundations of a language and a programming methodology for
   designing parallel algorithms and illustrate the methodology by
   presenting a concrete program derivation. The goal of the
   methodology is to define a  mapping of a program specification into
   a  concurrent  programming language. The methodology is developed in
   the context of  the {\it Unity} formalism.  We put special emphasis
   on derivation of parallel algorithms thar are correct with respect
   to some high-level program specification. The issue of efficiency in
   the sense of execution time and space is outside the scope of the
   present paper.

%L Busi95a
%K olit OBM94-04
%A Nadia Busi
%A Roberto Gorrieri
%T Distributed Conflicts in Communicating Systems
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 49-65
%X We argue that the alternative composition operator of CCS not only
   lacks expressiveness, but also provides a too abstract description
   of conflicting activities. Hence, we propose to replace it with a
   unary conflict operator and a conflict restriction operator,
   yielding the process algebra DiX.  We show that DiX is a semantic
   extension of CCS.  Moreover, DiX is equipped with a simple
   distributed semantics defined in terms of nets with inhibitor arcs,
   where the set of transitions is generated by three axiom schemata
   only.  This net semantics is the main motivation for the present
   proposal.

%L Carr95a
%K olit OBM94-05
%A Nick Carriero
%A David Gelernter
%A Lenore Zuck
%T Bauhaus Linda
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 66-76
%X We discuss ``Bauhaus Linda'' (or Bauhaus for short), a Linda-derived
   coordination language that is in many ways simultaneously more
   powerful and simpler than Linda.  Bauhaus unifies tuples and tuple
   spaces, leading to an especially clean treatment of multiple tuple
   spaces, and treats processes as atomic and explicitly
   representable.  We present an informal semantics of Bauhaus and
   discuss an extended example that demonstrates its expressivity and
   simplicity.

%L Cian95a
%K olit OBM94-06
%A Paolo Ciancarini
%A Keld K. Jensen
%A Daniel Yankelevich
%T On the Operational Semantics of a Coordination Language
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 77-106
%X Linda is a coordination language, because it has to be combined with
   a sequential language to give a full parallel programming
   formalism.  Although Linda has been implemented on a variety of
   architectures, and in combination with several sequential languages,
   its formal semantics is relatively unexplored.  In this paper we
   study and compare a number of operational semantics specifications
   for Linda:  Plotkin's SOS, Milner's CCS, Petri Nets, and Berry and
   Boudol's Chemical Abstract Machine.  We analyze these
   specifications, and show how they enlighten different abstract
   implementations.

%L Frol95a
%K olit OBM94-07
%A Svend Frolund
%A Gul Agha
%T Abstracting Interactions Based on Message Sets
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 107-124
%X An important requirement of programming languages for distributed
   systems is to provide abstractions for coordination.  A common type
   of coordination requires reactivity in response to arbitrary
   communication patterns.  We have developed a communication model in
   which concurrent objects can be activated by sets of messages.
   Specifically, our model allows direct and abstract expression of
   common interaction patterns found in concurrent systems.  For
   example, the model captures multiple clients that collectively
   invoke shared servers as a single activation.  Furthermore, it
   supports definition of individual clients that concurrently invoke
   multiple servers and wait for subsets of the returned reply
   messages.  Message sets are dynamically defined using conjunctive
   and disjunctive combinators that may depend on the patterns of
   messages.  The model subsumes existing models for multi-RPC and
   multi-party synchronization within a single, uniform activation
   framework.

%L Mins95a
%K olit OBM94-08
%A Naftaly Minsky
%A Jerrold Leichter
%T Law-Governed Linda as a Coordination Model
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 125-146
%X Linda is a very high level communication model which allows
   processes to communicate without knowing each other's identities and
   without having to arrange for a definite rendezvous.  This high
   level of abstraction would make Linda particularly suitable for use
   as a coordination model for open systems, if it were not for the
   fact that the Linda communication is very unsafe.  We propose to
   remove this deficiency of Linda by means of the concept of
   law-governed architecture previously applied to centralized and
   message passing systems.  We define a model for Law-Governed Linda
   (LGL) communication, and we demonstrate its efficacy by means of
   several illustrative examples.

%L Nier95a
%K olit scg-pub racl OBM94-09
%A Oscar Nierstrasz
%A Theo Dirk Meijler
%T Requirements for a Composition Language
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 147-161
%% CONFERENCE
%% COSTREF
%X The key requirement for open systems is that they be flexible, or
   recomposable. This suggests that they must first of all be
   composable.  Object-oriented techniques help by allowing
   applications to be viewed as compositions of collaborating objects,
   but are limited in supporting other kinds of abstractions that may
   have finer or coarser granularity than objects.  A composition
   language supports the technical requirements of a component-oriented
   development approach by shifting emphasis from programming and
   inheritance of classes to specification and composition of
   components.  Objects are viewed as processes, and components are
   abstractions over the object space. An application is viewed as an
   explicit composition of software components. By making software
   architectures explicit and manipulable, we expect to better support
   application evolution and flexibility. In this position paper we
   will elaborate our requirements and outline a strategy for the
   design and implementation of a composition language for the
   development of open systems.
%% ftp://iamftp.unibe.ch/pub/scg/Papers/reqForACompLang.ps.gz

%L Papa95b
%K olit OBM94-10
%A Michael Papathomas
%A Gordon S. Blair
%A Geoff Coulson
%T A Model for Active Object Coordination and its Use for Distributed
   Multimedia Applications
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 162-175
%X The coordination among a set of concurrent objects is commonly
   expressed through language specific synchronization mechanisms in
   the objects' implementation. Unfortunately, such an approach makes
   it difficult to reuse these objects in applications with different
   coordination patterns. Moreover, the algorithms used for object
   coordination are inextricably linked to the original object
   implementation and cannot themselves be easily reused for the
   coordination of objects with different implementations. In this
   paper, we propose a model that promotes the reuse of both objects
   and coordination patterns. The model allows objects to synchronize
   their execution with events occurring in other objects (e.g. state
   changes and method invocations) in a way that is compatible with
   local object synchronization constraints and respects
   encapsulation.  The model also supports the use of class inheritance
   while avoiding most of the problems of combining inheritance with
   synchronization.  Finally, we consider the use of the model in the
   area of distributed multimedia applications.  In this area active
   objects encapsulate media processing activities while a synchronous
   language is used to specify their temporal coordination.

%L Tolk95a
%K olit OBM94-11
%A Robert Tolksdorf
%T A Machine for Uncoupled Coordination and Its Concurrent Behavior
%B Object-Based Models and Languages for Concurrent Systems
%E P. Ciancarini, O. Nierstrasz and A. Yonezawa
%S LNCS 924
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1995
%P 176-193
%X The family of un-coupled coordination languages - its most prominent
   representative is Linda - uses as a central mechanism for
   synchronization and communication the addition and withdrawal of
   elements to and from a multiset. We define a machine - the
   Bag-Machine - that abstracts from specific outforms of elements
   handled and operations in a coordination language. We give a truly
   concurrent behavioral specification by event structures. We further
   show, how the embedding of a coordination language can be formalized
   and demonstrate our approach by a specification of Linda.


---
Prof. Dr. Oscar Nierstrasz; oscar@iam.unibe.ch; http://iamwww.unibe.ch/~oscar
Software Composition Group; CS Inst., U. Berne; Tel/Fax: +41 31 631.4618/3965


